Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1887-04-14
CREMATION iN Alaska.
How the Bodies OF the Deceased Are Pre-
pared for the Funeral Pyre.

I now INC DOOlc8 OF the Deceased Are HEo-
pared for the Funeral Pyre.
Having had information the other day
OF a 7remation to take place at the
lndia-A village, went to the beach to
witness Il The defunct siwash was
known around Juneau as Frank, and
was formerly employed at Martin
Bros store in the capacity of Indian
clerk, and the Hickman tit being a
double cremation of one of each seX)
had been called Jennie; both, as it
happened. having died of consumption.
The mourning service consisted of the
ancient ceremony known as ''potlatch,"
which is always customary among the
Indians of Southwestern Alaska on the
occasion of a death of one of their
number. The potlatch is a division of
whatever temporal goods the deceased
may have possessed, such as blankets,
dry goods, ETC.. among his or her rel;l-
tons, according as the merits of each
individual case may justify.
In the services of the mourning,
which are very long, and to the Indian
mind very impressive, the first in the
order of the day is a eulogistic dis
course by one of the old men, which,
being delivered by him in sections. so
to speak, is taken up and sung by the
rest in a monOtonous sort of chant;
the old man is then superseded by an
other venerable buck, who goes
turn by another, until all the old men
have had their individual say. The
chanters keep time by humping the
floor with sticks and beating on a
drum. This performance being gone
over for a day OF two, the potlatch
takes place.
The body of the deceased is first
wrapped i'll Il mating, woven from
split roots, and in appearance resem-
bling coarse straw. They then convey
the body to the place of cremation,
which is always on the beach at high
water mark. On this occasion they
had on hand for the purpose of burn
ing the two bodies, about one cord of
wood, some split and some in small
logs. First platform of small logs is
laid foot from the ground, and a
space of four inches between each log.
On this pyre, which was about seven
feet long by five feet wide, the two
bodies were placed, about three feet
apart, and around them a miniature
log hut was built to a height of four
feet; the enclosed space is then cara-
fully filled in with split wood and fine
kindling, and now, every thing being in
readiness, the fire is lighted from the
bottom. The native diet being chiefly
salmon, an oily substance, the bodies of
the Indians seem to contain consider
able amount of oil, as they burn very
readily. While the corpses were char
ring, the friends of the deceased con-
tinued to poke them with long sticks,
occasionally raking the fragments of
burnt flesh from the fire and wrapping
them in skins, blankets, etc. Return
ing from the cremation of the two
natives, L heard singing in a native
house, and dropped in to see what was
going on.
There was quite an assemblage of
natives squatted around a small fire in
the center of the room, and at one end |
of the house the corpse of an old |
woman lay, covered with sheets and |
blankets. All around the room was |
strung up muslin, pieces of calico, and |
a few blankets; also, three umbrellas. |
etc, all of which will be distributed |
among the relatives and near friends. |
Then the process described above will |
be gone through. Free Press. |